I recently brought an O2 meter to add to my toys (gadgets). Anyway I have taken my readings and they are:-
BP 117/65, O2 99%, HR 54 and BG (blood glucose) 8.7
The only one I am slightly unhappy with is BG but I had a very disturbed night with phantom pain needing to take extra painkillers (Oxycodone).
Did you take any readings and were you happy with them?
Morning MichaelJH,
I have ‘c’ at the moment so am taking my readings 3 times a day, BP 98/61 pulse 68 oximeter 97% that was first thing this morning. So yes happy. Sons wanting me to do them morning lunch time evening.
Pauline
My O2 dropped to 93% in late September/early October. It was still only 95% in mid-November.98% at year end so it took three months+ to fully recover.
I hope you & John are not too poorly. X
I feel rotten, at the moment John is on the C ward at the hospital but seems to be doing well, not on oxygen. Just phoned the ward and he as had a wash and some breakfast waiting on doctors rounds.
Take care, hope you feel better soon x
Hi Pauline. I'm so sorry you're going through all of this. It seems never ending but John will get there. Always thinking of you both and sending love and big hugs. Jan xxxxx
Good to hear John is doing well but sorry to hear you're feeling rotten. I'm still recovering from it from well over a month ago. My coughing was so bad yesterday and I felt so poorly again this morning I did another test!! Fortunately it was negative . I hope you're feeling better soon, please ensure you don't try to push yourself too much, it really is counter productive xx
So sorry you are still suffering, I know what you mean about coughing I coughed so much I pulled a muscle in my side! I am still getting rubbish up, though feel a bit better this morning. Had a message from Daughter-in-law late last night and she as tested positive again she only had it at Christmas. She is in Dorset so it’s all over again. Glad your test was negative. Make sure you take it easy to.
Pauline
Hope you feel better very soon lezzers it is a pain literally this awful virus sending very best wishes to you for a speedy recovery take care xx
Hope you feel better very soon Pauline even in very fit people I’ve witnessed how ‘c’ has affected them so it might take a little longer but you will get there big hugs to you xx
My weight peaked at 102.4. In December it was down to 100.5. The problem is uniped weighing is challenging. I know I have lost weight though as my belt has come in a notch and I can now wear a watch where the non-expandable strap had become to tight...
Hi Michael, near perfect readings, just BG a bit high as you say. I’ve recently had a short spell in hospital, readings in there about 4 hourly were ok after the first day, though have to have blood test shortly, to check I have or haven’t got type 2 Diabetes. Anyway I just haven’t done any readings since coming home, lethargic or scared not sure which?
What happened Sat 19th Feb, twisted to pick up something on my bed, CRACK out came my prosthetic head of femur! And down I went. Cutting story short, had to have fire service to get me out of house and into ambulance. 4 days in hospital, second time it’s happened! Really have to be so careful now.
Moving on I have carers am pm, from a company who are paid by my local council, and are about re enablement! Have just got this largish blue plastic contraption to help put socks, pop socks on, mustn’t bend down!
First time today managed it!
Also have hot lunches delivered by a company APETITO. Vary in quality, and one problem I’m the last call on the round and it’s usually 2-2.30, when I’m feeling rough, so have to nibble a bit sooner, and of course my weight has gone up.
This event has really taken the stuffing out of me this time, sunshine helps, but not easy to feel positive all the time, and haven’t been outside of course yet. Still i do count my blessings when I watch the news
It’s the patches during the day when I feel completely fatigued, does anyone else suffer from awful fatigue, and how do you cope?
Hi if you have carers in who could microwave food for you try Wiltshire Farm Foods, they are really good and there's plenty of choice. Perhaps you can have a sandwich for lunch and hot meal for dinner or the other way around. You can request a catalogue
Wiltshire Farm Foods are actually part of the Apetito group of companies. I have had both in the past and was not overly impressed. Personally if you, or a carer, can use the microwave M&S and Waitrose ready meals are better tasting. We'll that's my personal opinion.
Thank you for your replies Glasgowgirl and MichaelJH. Will try other ready meals, the morning carer will make a sandwich for me for the evening, Hope in a few weeks not to need carers at all! Have a stair lift being put in tomorrow, arranged in 2 weeks, and I’m renting it. It was that or move!
I’m impressed with so many of you having excellent readings. Seeing cardiologist in April, so will follow your example and do a weeks worth before then.
Lying on my left side, I can count my pulse, the new aortic valve I presume. My husband had the one, he had to take warfarin, and it had a lovely gentle tick!
Dear MichaelJH
Yup take them everyday and on the whole everyone is happy with the results,
the only one that keeps annoying me is my weight scales that seem to point to fat more than usual!
But the summer is coming and before the old heart thing I naturally lost weight then so hoping for the same this summer.
Where an I get an O2 meter?
Got mine on Amazon.
Pauline
Cheers Pauline. I will have a look later.
Miner's an AILE off Amazon.
Interested to read about all these gadgets but I wonder if obsessing with the readings has any point. Do the doctors pay any attention to your findings, does it affect their actions? I find they are not really interested so what is the point. I was told to buy a blood pressure monitor to track my BP but when I finally managed to see a professional they merely asked for the last reading which was the same as the one they had just taken. I have stopped bothering and am trying to make the most of the life I have left…
Both my GP and my cardiologist were interested in my collated results and spent a while digesting them, looking for approximate averages and possible trends. It barely takes 5 minutes in the morning to make the measurements
Interested to see how many people have GPS and cardiologists who will bother to look at the daily records patients keep. I no longer refer to “my” GP as if I am lucky enough to get an appointment I see a different locum every time who is unfamiliar with my case and hasn’t time to read through my NHS records let alone look at my private ones. Last time the GP told me to stop looking at the internet and asked me what PVC’s were! It doesn’t give one much confidence.
My last telephone consult with Cardiology was on January 4th and I received the follow up letter yesterday over 2 months after the event!
My blood pressure and Apple Watch lie unused as I would be unlikely to get any help if I did detect an adverse event.
In my area the NHS is crumbling even this is not the same in other regions.
That's any interesting comment, I suppose the professionals just give them a quick look over to see if there is anything odd, a to High or, a to Low. Or do they have a quick glance to see if there is a trend of Falling or Rising readings ? interested in others observation on this subject.
Mine are 107/58 53 , 2nd reading , 99/68 57 3rd reading 112/66 60 these are before I pop my pills Entresto mid dose, Bisoprolol 7.5 and a range of what I refer to as " Mickey Mouse pills Statins, Aspirin, Omeprazole, Eplerenone.
Regards
In the morning my routine is quite simple, get up, bathroom (being on diuretics means there is an extremely short time between those actions) weigh, measure Blood Glucose, then sit calmly for 5 minutes to recover from all the exertions, measure blood pressure. I note these down. At the end of the day, I also note down the number of steps for the day and any exercise done. I have to enter these on the cardio rehab app I was given by the hospital. It is becoming increasingly clear that no one at the other end is actually looking at those results off the app.
But I also enter them on a spreadsheet, adding a quick comment each day. This is extremely useful for me and, so it turns out, for the doctors looking after me. I note down each day if anything relevant has happened, eg breathing not so good today or developed a bit of a cold. I now have hard info when talking to the doctors. At my recent GP appointment to discuss blood test results she was able to look through and see certain trends in the results and change certain meds accordingly. Similarly, at my cardiologist appointment, he spent a while looking through the figures in the tables, and referred to them when discussing possible changes in my meds.In answer to the question, I am content, rather than happy with weight and BG but not so happy with my BP which has been a bit higher than I would like for the last 3 days
I carry out a similar routine to you every morning, with the exception of BG levels. I record my results on an Excel spreadsheet at 0745 each day together with a brief note of any physical changes I have experienced. When I attend an appointment with my cardiologist I take a printout of, say, the last month's entries which he always reviews and makes notes. He did on one occasion observe "if only all my patients could provide me with this data, it would make my job a lot easier"
My readings this morning are BP 119/66, Pulse 55, O2% 97, Temp 36.1 Weight 76.2
Not too bad for an eighty year old......
I take all my readings every day, are you type 1 or 2 diabetic? I am type 2 and was told that morning sugars under 9 are good. If I take my BP when I first get up they are often around 130/80 but if I take the a couple of hours after being up the are around 116/65 my SP02 mostly sit between 96-98. But if my fingers are cold it reads a lot lower. I have been keeping a stats diary for about a year and a sugars / toilet / meal diary for about four years due to my IBS getting worse, I find keeping a diary on the iPad I can see right away if something is going in the wrong direction.
I use an oximeter too but mine doesn’t include glucose.I find I have to let it settle before accepting the readings. I have a second one as backup and to co-check the accuracy of each device!
I was amazed at 99% though. My target is to get between 88 and 92 and I am on oxygen to achieve that! Right now I am in hospital anyway but it’s the same deal with o2 levels!
Hi Mel. Hope you're not stuck in hospital for too long.
I was going to ask the same - does Michael's oximeter do glucose readings?
No. BG done on a separate meter with finger prick test. I have been trying for a CGM (continuous glucose meter) for five years but have concluded there is ageism in their allocation.
Hello Michael.I do take my blood pressure regularly I like to see it around the 116/75 to 114/70 mark but I've just been taken off furosemide and occasionally I get readings of 140/80 which concerns me also readings of 108/70 which I like.
I'm interested in your pain killers, not for me, but my wife suffers with Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome in both hips which prevents her from walking and climbing stairs etc.
I'm also interested in that O2 monitor which I will now look up on ebay so thanks for that.
I hope you sort out your BG. I know you've been through a lot.
Hi Michael,
My stats are fairly stable - BP average of 130/75, 55 pulse, 99% O2. BP up from 125/75 recently, so might need to increase my ARB. Weight sitting at 84kg (1.82m height) which will drop off in summer to around 82kg. Awaiting blood test results before I suggest any adjustments to my GP.... yes, I initiate the changes! 😀
Sorry to hear that you are getting phantom pain. That must be really upsetting, especially when you are trying to get a decent night's sleep.
Gerald
I do have gadgets (oximeter, fitness watch and blood pressure monitor) but try to avoid using them. My readings today though are showing me my heart rate is high (ranging between high 90s and 140 depending what I’m doing) and I have no clue why. I was going to do my own question about it. All this from catching the dreaded C (13 months ago - not recently) BP and O2 ok though and I don’t monitor BG and weight.
I would burn more (calories) if the wound on my stump did not prevent me using the prosthetic.
Do you remove the cuff from your arm between blood pressure readings?
Apple Watch readings
Apple Watch readings
